18 posts categorized "UMPC"

Thursday, 24 September 2009

Could Microsoft be about to out cool Apple? Will reality match the vision?

Lets hope this doesn’t become Origami 2, remember the UMPC tablet that never really happened*, because it looks too good to fail. The video demo is cool but I wonder, how would it cope with CAD design/review applications? If Microsoft want a tester…

Monday, 24 December 2007

Tablet PCs are five years old (!) but will 2008 be the year they finally take off? They currently have only a small market share but there seems to be a resurgence with new major players, like Dell, entering the market. Will that be enough to take the Tablet beyond “niche”?

People love using them!

In my experience, once people try a Tablet they are both amazed and delighted by the pen UI. It's not ideal for all types of work but great if you’re not “the worlds greatest typist” or work on graphic, rather than text/data, documents. For many tasks the pen/ink UI is far more intuitive than keyboard and mouse.

Tablet PCs also bring your “analog” scribbles into the digital world. Scratching in a notepad means you just have a note in a pad. Inking the same note in software like MindManager, or OneNote, makes it search-able, sharable and “keeps it digital” with all the benefits that provides. How do you backup that vital paper notepad or diary?

In a meeting/sales environment a convertible/slate being used with a pen doesn’t present the barrier created by sitting behind a normal laptop. However, while many champion the “pure” keyboard-less “Slate” form factor, I think a Convertible Notebook is still the best compromise for most.

So why don’t they sell?

There is a price premium but I think the real problem is potential users just don’t get the chance to try them. I just visited a large specialist computer store which sells all the major brands. All their Notebooks were prominently displayed yet no sign of a Tablet Convertible or Slate*. They were available “to order” but who is going to order one without experiencing the benefits of the Tablet UI? If a specialist PC store doesn’t bother what hope is there of seeing a Tablet in the appliance or department stores where most people buy their laptop?

Will “touch” will be the tipping point?

They are just starting to arrive on the market but pen/touch tablets seem like a real advance. Manipulating digital objects directly with your fingers may be the feature that makes the difference. Only problem is you also can’t try a “touch” machine if it’s only available “to order”!

The problem isn’t the technology!

I doubt it’s even the price as most dealers would happily sell a higher priced machine if they could.It gives them more margin on the finance or “extended warranty” where they inevitably make their real profit. The problem is both marketing and availability. If they aren’t there to buy, people won’t buy them! The last five years has proved that.

5 Years of Tablet PC: Marketing - GottaBeMobileWhat if they threw a party for The Five Year Anniversary of the Tablet PC and nobody came? What if even the guest of honor stayed away? Well, it certainly seems that Microsoft and Tablet PC manufacturers want this anniversary to pass without any real noise or attempt at celebration…

Friday, 30 November 2007

Shares in The Warehouse Group surged as much as 25 per cent today after the High Court granted supermarket giants Woolworths and Foodstuffs permission to bid for New Zealand's biggest discount retailer…

Later on in the thread there is a comment that it would be essential to take a laptop but as Jason mentions:

“I found that in most classes, it's WAY too packed to even consider bringing out a laptop.“

My first day there, I was like you - WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN!!! By the second day, I realized that I was too busy writing to pay attention to what was being said and done on the screen, so I paid close attention, took the handouts with me, and made notes after the class on them. No need for transcribing the class, they record some of them, and the handouts are really sufficient.

I agree with these points but my approach to this information tidal wave was to adopt Mind map techniques. I use software for creating them on the PC but didn’t take a laptop to AU as couldn’t be bothered carrying it 11,000 km to AU (Vegas 2004), then another 11,000km around the MGM Grand while at AU. It feels like you walk that far in the 4 days….

I’ve adopted the map format for nearly all hand written meeting/conference notes. You can capture a lot with minimal writing as the structure & relationships can convey much of the information. It works really well for computer related content like AU as many topics may only require key words and their relationship. I find the advantages over linear list format notes are:

You tend to use far fewer words

It’s very easy to show relationships. Just add a line or arrow

It’s easy to revisit topics, perhaps add detail, as you are not restricted by the layout. Just link them with a line no matter where the additional notes are located. Although most presentations have structure they are not linear as often refer back to previous topics. This is common with computer presentations where concept/theory/features are discussed then later shown in a demonstration. When you are not documenting in a linear method this is far easier to cope with.

You can still easily include a sketch, table or other forms of notes if appropriate.

It’s rapid so doesn’t divert your attention from the speaker.

My note maps break most of the rules of Mind Mapping, even incorporate other forms like concept mapping, but it doesn’t matter. There is no time or need to think about rules and layout; just do what works for you!

As an example the scrawl below is the notes, 4 note pages from the AU handout book, from just one session with Ted Boardman on Viz/Max Materials. Ted is a brilliant teacher conveying a huge amount of information in the session but he’s also a great speaker so you don’t want to miss that aspect while frantically writing. He, like many AU tutors, provides good handouts but there is something about taking your own notes to make the sessions more memorable & relevant.

I’d like to blame the terrible writing on “packed conditions” but my print is that bad all the time! The layout reflects the way the maps grew during the session. Sometimes I’d revisit the topic and add extra notes just by linking with a line or capture comments in a thought bubble. I don’t know how you’d do this as rapidly or easily, in a non-linear manner, with conventional list format notes.

To give an idea this single topic about Specular Highlights (below) is shown in raw note form and as later transcribed to a MindManager map. The result conveys a lot of information, much of it from the relationship and structure, with minimal writing.

The map below shows Levels 1 & 2 of the complete notes from the session. The arrow points to the “Specular Highlights” topic seen fully expanded above. MindManager is great for this sort of overview while also holding the full detail should you need to drill down into a topic. The map has 245 topics and 912 words. The session was about 90 minutes so I wrote 2 – 3 topics/minute, many of them only one or two words, yet feel I captured all I needed without missing the real reason for being there – to see a Max/Viz legend at work.

So, do you need to take a Laptop to AU to just for notes?

I’d say no paper is fine but a Tablet PC/Origami + MindManager, with ample long-life batteries, would be nice as offers the same pen interface and eliminates the need to transcribe it all later

Wednesday, 26 July 2006

The odd thing is that many flights, especially in light aircraft, are totally dependent on paper – thick books of charts and flight instructions. It seems rather primitive to have pilots carrying hundreds of bits of paper, searching for the right chart when they probably have more important tasks to do!

It appears that hassle is about to end as electronic ink, digital paper, takes to the air. eFlyBook is a small, electronic notebook for use in the cockpit which uses a passive, paper like, digital ink display and stylus, pen like, entry for searching.

Seems like the only paper in flight will be aircraft like the Barnaby Flyer...*

eFlyBook by ARINCFor the first time, digital FAA flight charts, en route charts, terminal procedures, and other flight documents can be downloaded, stored and viewed easily on eFlyBook, a small, electronic notebook for use in the cockpit. Charts, documents, and other digital content are provided by MyAirplane.com, which uses its award-winning viewer and compression technology to minimize storage requirements without degrading the quality of the documents.

I was about 10 when I read his book as part of a science project on flight. I made many, probably hundreds, and watched one fly for an amazing, stopwatch timed, 3 minutes after launching from a high cliff near Piha. It flew several hundred metres down almost to sea level then climbed, in an updraft, almost returning to the launch point before descending again to the sea – Biodegradable of course!

Saturday, 25 March 2006

Bill Gates uses the term “Origami” rather than UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC). JK approves and so do I.

Still not sure if they are useful, toy, or hype (battery life a downfall?) but calling them Origami rather than YouEmmPeeCee’s is a good move. Maybe strange at first but no more than iPod or Blackberry!

Kevin 2.0 » Origami video: the real deal?Much like everyone else, I’ve been wondering what Microsoft’s Origami Project is. The speculation runs rampant but it appears that you might not have to wait a few weeks to find out

Tuesday, 10 January 2006

Auckland company Rakon have announced a GPS receiver module “as tiny as a baby’s fingernail”. Maybe we’ll soon see GPS being used in devices and ways just not viable with the current technology.

As an example of novel use for GPS consider the Celestron SkyScout. It combines location & orientation sensing to provide live text and audio information on your current view of the night sky. It was picked by some influential bloggers as the hit product of the recent CES show:

Rakon Develops World's Smallest Receiver - RAKON.The quest for ever smaller GPS-enabled equipment, such as mobile phones, PDAs and even watches has just taken a giant step forward with the development of the world’s smallest GPS radio frequency receiver module by a New Zealand company.

Auckland electronics company Rakon has just developed a module, as tiny as a baby’s fingernail, and is already fielding calls from GPS manufacturers keen to imbed the product in their own new developments…. [more]Via RadioLive News